Pagcor mulls restraining order against Quezon City

March 14, 2019

The Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corp. continues to push back against efforts by Quezon City to regulate terms of a planned integrated resort in the area, saying it is now “seriously contemplating a temporary restraining order.”

In a press release, the gaming regulator said not taking such action would be “tantamount to the dereliction of its duties.”

The spat is over Bloomberry Resort’s project for a second casino resort in the Philippines. The second property would be targeted at the mass market and would also be under the Solaire brand.

However, local authorities in Quezon, while issuing a statement of non-objection to the plans, also said they would introduce a fee for locals, sparking Pagcor’s ire. The regulator claims the local government is acting out of the bounds of its authority.

“Relative to abuses of local government in making ordinances beyond their authority, Department of Justice Opinion (DOJ) No. 087, s. 2012, stated that the “Department of Interior and Local Government (DILG) has been swamped with problems arising from the implementation of ordinances which contain provisions that clearly violate existing national laws…”

“Hence, given the provisions of the law, it is clear that Quezon City’s proposed gaming regulatory ordinance is a violation of national law.”

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